Home Is Where
by twouble
Summary: Home's...wherever your toothbrush is. Guess my home's in my back pocket then?One shot. Reflecting Remus preOotP looking back on Hogwarts days kinda thing. MWPP. Hints at RS.


**A/N: Strange things happen to my brain while I'm brushing my teeth in the morning.**

Remus sighed as he unpacked his stuff into a spare bedroom at Sirius', pausing when he picked up his toothbrush to think back on a lifetime of memories.

There had always been a fight for space when they brushed their teeth at Hogwarts, four twelve year olds crowding around a tiny sink in a bathroom that was far too small. Sirius would elbow everyone out of the way so that he could have full use of the mirror because, he said, he needed time to admire his beautiful face, James would always be on Sirius' left, it was an unspoken rule, Sirius was James' right hand man. And from that vantage point James could see enough of himself in the mirror to attempt to flatten his hair, and he was in a prime position elbow Sirius if he started getting too cocky. Remus was always on Sirius' right, it was as though it was some sort of pecking order. Almost every night he would question Sirius' desire to admire himself ritually, despite the fact that they were only in there to brush their teeth.

As time went by he found himself admiring Sirius in the mirror too, although he said nothing. Their toothbrushes had various homes over the years and the ritual of brushing their teeth together was something that never died out. When they had been fifteen, much more aware of who they were than they had been when they were twelve, they had spent the entire summer at James' parents house. James' own bathroom was even smaller than their dormitory one and they could only use it two at time, James and Peter, who had both developed Sirius' habit of admiring their reflections before they went to bed, had insisted on not sharing with Sirius, this suited Remus just fine. He could still remember walking into the bathroom and leaning over Sirius, who was topless at the time, to grab his toothbrush. He was certain he had blushed from head to toe, but as Sirius was hogging the mirror, he had had no way to check and instead had just concentrated on putting the toothpaste onto his toothbrush shakily. Sirius had stepped backwards, banging into him and he had lost his footing. They had ended up slumped on the floor in a heap, toothbrushes still in their mouths. He laughed at the memory, but at the time he had been wholly embarrassed to find his hand had landed on Sirius' thigh. James and Peter's heads had appeared in the doorway seconds later and the rest of the summer had been spent with casual teasing, the chant Moony fancies Padfoot becoming more and more embarrassing for a fifteen year old boy who wasn't altogether sure that he _didn't_ fancy Sirius.

They had returned to school that September and their toothbrushes had been returned to their dormitory bathroom, Sirius still stood in between James and Remus, with Peter on Remus' other side, nothing changed, they spent the rest of their schooldays with the same system, and although he had gotten closer to Sirius as the years went on, unspoken words suggesting something would happen sooner or later, until the point that they were brushing their teeth with their hips touching. Remus had been certain that Sirius chose to put his pyjama top on after they had brushed their teeth in an attempt to get a reaction out of his friend.

They had grown older of course, and the time had come when they had to move on, and leave Hogwarts behind them. They had trudged down the pathway that led to Hogsmeade, the sun beating down on their backs, each of them pulling their trucks, Remus had carried a holdall over his shoulder containing everything they'd acquired over their seven years as students in that castle that they couldn't fit into their school trunks. James had stopped at the castle gates and they had all followed suit, turning to look back at the castle, he had let out a long sigh, which Sirius had mimicked with even more feeling, a sadness in his eyes that went beyond that of the other boys', something they had all been aware of without words needing to be spoken. "Home then?" James had said, it was barely more than a whisper but it spoke volumes." Sirius had stared at the castle, unblinking.

"Hogwarts is my home, though."

"I wish we could stay another day." Peter had mumbled, he had probably been the least aware of what Sirius was feeling, but still even he had understood that Sirius didn't want to leave because this was the first place he had felt _accepted._ It was the first time Remus and Peter had too, but it had meant so much more to Sirius than it had to them, for they'd both had the love of their families.

"We've already stayed a week longer than anyone else." Remus remembered pointing out.

"And that was only because James is Dumbledore's golden boy." James, who had known there was little point in arguing with Sirius, especially when he was right, just put an arm around his best friend's shoulders.

"Hogwarts doesn't have to be home, Pads. Home's just where you lot are." Peter and Remus had nodded in agreement.

"Home's where we fit in, where people care about us are." Peter had said. Sirius still had not spoken, James had turned to Remus for support and he had shoved his hands in his pockets, staring towards the sky as his friend questioned him.

"Moony?"

"Home's…wherever your toothbrush is." They had all laughed at that, but Remus had been deadly serious.

"Guess my home's my back pocket then?" Sirius had said, smirking. Remus had reached forward, sliding his hand into his friends pocket, perhaps leaving it there for a few seconds longer than was necessary before withdrawing it, pulling with it Sirius' toothbrush, he had shoved it unceremoniously into his holdall.

"What? You can't keep it in your pocket. Your home's with me now."

"Should I give my toothbrush to Lily, then?" They had laughed at James, laughed at Remus, laughed at Sirius' toothbrush, they had laughed all the way to Hogsmeade and were still laughing when they apparated into James' living room, causing his mother to question what exactly they had spent the afternoon doing.

"You alright, Moony?" The present day Sirius brought him out of his thoughts.

"Mm, just thinking." He twiddled the toothbrush between his fingers. Sirius took it from him. "Put this in the bathroom, shall I?"

"Well, I guess this is home."

"Your home's with me Moony, just like it's always been." He left the room and Remus followed, leaning against the doorway to the bathroom.

"I was thinking about the day I first told you that, actually."

"When you stole my toothbrush?"

"Yes. Our last day at Hogwarts." Sirius smiled nostalgically.

"They remind me of us, y'know, Harry and his friends. I thought that the first time I saw them, the way they are with each other. When I look at them, I see a family." He sighed and his voice became painfully low, the memories of happy times serving only to remind them of everything they had lost. "I see the way we _used_ to be." Remus took his toothbrush from Sirius and put it into the cup on the sink where Sirius' own toothbrush was.

"The way we are, Padfoot. The way we _are_."

**A/N: Reviewers can feel free to join the boys for teeth brushing!**


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